There are numerous iconic photos of The Jam, and all Jam fans have their favourites, but, for me, it was the Frank’s Café ones that always grabbed me. I think it might be something to do with the fact that they are doing something that we all do: eat. Until I saw that photo, it had never occurred to me that The Jam would, like, eat. I noticed, years later, that only Bruce and Rick appear to be eating in the photo, but maybe Paul had just finished.

Push forward 38 years, and I’ve started to enjoy doing this RockSpot thing; placing old photos on top of new ones to see how much has changed. Trouble is, I could find NO trace of Frank’s Café anywhere in Soho, let alone on Beak Street. Several trips to Beak Street itself gave me no clues, so I asked Twitter.

Twitter couldn’t help, either, although lots of people sent me messages saying that they had always wondered where it was; many of them having gone looking for it in the past.

Then I asked Kevin Mottram @mott_73 on Twitter, because he has access to an Ancestry account that traces old addresses by name; surname, shop name or otherwise. He couldn’t find anything on Ancestry, but suggested that I contact the photographer – Martyn Goddard – to see if he could shed some light.

Back to January 2007, and Paul Weller is doing three nights at Irving Plaza, New York. Word is, he’s going to do three different sets, too; first night: The Jam, second night: Style Council, and third night: Paul Weller.My friend, Gavin, from Our Price Records days, was then running the biggest record shop in the world: Virgin Megastore, Times Square, and he reckons he can get me into all three shows, so I book my flight.The day before I leave London, Gavin texts me to say that he has booked Paul Weller to do a Virgin in-store acoustic set, on the Sunday afternoon, before the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Irving Plaza shows.

“You’ll be able to meet him, tell him how many times you’ve seen him live..” says Gavin, sarcastically.